Macarthur Anglican School

Academic Success2019

Overall SuccessThe Year 12 class of 2019 continued Macarthur Anglican School’s tradition of proven academic success. Macarthur ranked 57th out of over 800 schools which had candidates sit the HSC in 2019, placing the School in the top 7% of all schools in NSW. Macarthur is the top scoring comprehensive school in the greater Macarthur, Camden, Campbelltown and Wollondilly areas.

The Australian Tertiary Admission Rank is the measure used for matriculation or university entrance. In 2019 the students achieved the following ATAR results:

18% of students achieved an ATAR of 95 or higher35% of students achieved an ATAR of 90 or higher48% of students achieved an ATAR of 85 or higher60% of students achieved an ATAR of 80 or higher74% of students achieved an ATAR of 75 or higher77% of students achieved an ATAR of 70 or higher

Inspiring students to be lifelong learners,

have a positive growth mindset, be agile thinkers and

consistently work to improve their personal

best.

Top Achievers

Congratulations to the following Top Achievers who placed in the top 10 of the State.

Isaiah Kezelos • 1st in Indonesian Extension • 5th in Indonesian Continuers • 7th in Music 1Morgan Reidy • 5th in English Extension 1 Lara Lindsay • 3rd in Indonesian ExtensionTiffany Lee-Walker • 5th in Mathematics Standard 2

NESA Exhibition and Performance ShowcasesHarrison Barrett - ART EXPRESS (Visual Arts) Sofia Iorfino - Shape Nomination (Design and Technology) Isaiah Kezelos - ENCORE Nomination (Music)

Lara Lindsay - OnStage Nomination (Drama)

In Detail

Macarthur Anglican School’s Year 12 students have excelled in 2019 having achieved some of the School’s best ever HSC results. Over one-third of this year’s cohort achieved an ATAR over 90 and 60% of students received an ATAR of over 80.

The Headmaster, Dr David Nockles is once again “absolutely delighted” for the students and their outstanding effort.

“With all the talk of declining educational standards nationally, it is wonderful to see our school consistently bucking this negative trend, especially in our part of Sydney. We have a strong academic culture at Macarthur. We set the bar high and share the students’ joy when they rise to meet the challenges set before them.”

Although the School has consistently ranked in the top 100 schools in New South Wales, it achieved its best performance this year with a rank of 57 state-wide. This places Macarthur in the top 7% of all schools sitting students for the Higher School

Certificate. “What makes me particularly proud,” said Dr Nockles, is that we can achieve these terrific results without being an academically selective school, but welcoming students of all abilities.”

Among Macarthur’s top performers was its School Captain Isaiah Kezelos. Isaiah achieved 1st in the State in Indonesian Extension, 5th in the State in Indonesian Continuers and 7th in Music 1. Isaiah was also Equal DUX of the cohort together with fellow student Shivani Mistry. Both students achieved an ATAR of 99.35 and were also deemed ‘Best All Rounders’ with scores over 90% across 10 units of study.

Other successful students included Morgan Reidy (5th in English Extension 1), Lara Lindsay (3rd in Indonesian Extension) and Tiffany Lee-Walker (5th in Mathematics Standard 2).

Macarthur’s top achievers have studied a wide variety of courses from the 37 subjects offered at HSC level. For most subjects, the results are well above the State Average with Agriculture, Ancient History, Biology, Design and Technology, Drama, Geography, Information Processes and Technology,

Legal Studies, Mathematics Standard 2, Music 1, Physics, PDHPE, Modern History, Society and Culture, Visual Arts and Indonesian Continuers leading the field.

Dr Nockles, who has published research on what makes effective schools, advocates that, “Students who balance their academic study with co-curricular, extra-curricular involvement and sport have the greatest opportunity for success in the HSC as they are far more likely to study effectively when they’re engaged and happy with their wider school life.”

81% of Macarthur’s students received early university offers and some have received academic scholarships. 60% of Macarthur students have been recognised as Distinguished Achievers for attaining Band 6 or E4 results and 89% of students gained Band 5 or E3 results and above. Students also appeared on the HSC Honour Roll 94 times.

Isaiah is looking for a future in Actuarial Studies at Macquarie University, while Shivani will be pursuing a Medical Science degree at UNSW. But in this Macarthur cohort the study plans are wide and varied and include Medicine, Engineering, Law, Business, Nursing, Economics, Psychology, Agriculture and

Teaching.

“Our School motto is Enter to Learn, Go Out to Serve,’” said Isaiah. “Many of us see our futures in serving our local community with the skills we have gained at school and will develop further at university.” In a similar vein, Dr Nockles remarked, “It’s not just about the great results. Education is about the formation of character and in the 2019 cohort we have it in spades!”

Notable Subject ResultsEsther Alexander 95% Agriculture Joshua Hand 95% Mathematics Standard 2Isaiah Kezelos 99% Music 1 95% Indonesian Continuers 95% Mathematics 48/50 Indonesian Extension Tiffany Lee-Walker 99% Mathematics Standard 2Shivani Mistry 97% Business Studies 97% English Advanced 96% Legal Studies Bethany Noakes 47/50 English Extension 1Morgan Reidy 50/50 English Extension 1 97% English Advanced 49/50 English Extension 2

celebratingIndividual SuccessHSC Result HighlightsMacarthur was ranked 57th overall out of over 800 schools which had candidates sit the HSC in 2019

Macarthur was the top scoring school in the region placing it in the top 7% of all schools in NSW

Macarthur was ranked 30th out of all NSW Independent Schools

Of the 62 students who sat the HSC, 94 Distinguished Achievement results were recorded on the NESA HSC Honour Roll for students who attained a Band 6 or Band E4 Extension result

9.7% of students were recognised as Top Achievers on the NESA Honour Roll

This placed Macarthur 7th in the State for the number of top achievers in one school

Macarthur was ranked 77th in the State for the number of students who achieved Band 6 or E4 results in at least 10 units of study

Three accelerated students (Year 11 cohort for 2019) studied Mathematics Extension 1 and Mathematics Extension 2

Isaiah Kezelos - 99.35

1st in Indonesian Extension5th in Indonesian Continuers7th in Music 1Isaiah is planning to study Actuarial Studies at Macquarie University.

Shivani Mistry - 99.35

Shivani is planning to study Medical Science at the University of New South Wales.

School DUX

Isaiah Kezelos and Shivani Mistry share the honour of DUX for 2019.

Accelerants

In 2019 three accelerated students (Year 11 cohort for 2019) studied and completed Mathematics Extension 1 and Mathematics Extension 2 at the HSC level.

Jayden Taylor Mathematics Extension 1 (91%) E4, Mathematics Extension 2 (87%) Notional Band 6. Jayden plans to study Mathematics at University in 2020 (whilst completing his HSC year).

Bradley Speed Mathematics Extension 1 (90%) E4, Mathematics Extension 2 (81%) Notional Band 6.

Joshua Drayton Mathematics Extension 1 (70%) E3, Mathematics Extension 2 (55%) Notional Band 5.

High Achievers (99+)

Subjects StudiedEnglish Advanced

MathematicsMathematics Extension 1

BiologyBusiness Studies

Legal Studies

HSC All Rounder

Equal DUX

Shivani Mistry99.35

Subjects StudiedEnglish Advanced

MathematicsMathematics Extension 1

Music 1Indonesian ContinuersIndonesian Extension

HSC All Rounder

Equal DUX

Isaiah Kezelos99.35

Students who balance their academic study with co-curricular, extra-curricular involvement and sport have the greatest opportunity for

success in the HSC as they are far more likely to be engaged and happy. It is so important to provide an education that includes, engages, challenges

and elevates every student in their learning.

“ “

High Achievers (95+)

Subjects Studied

English AdvancedEnglish Extension 1English Extension 2

Mathematics Mathematics Extension 1

BiologyChemistry

Science Extension

Morgan Reidy98.40

Subjects Studied

English EAL/DMathematics Extension 1Mathematics Extension 2

Chemistry Physics

Qian Sophie Wang97.40

Subjects Studied

English AdvancedMathematics

Mathematics Extension 1Economics

Modern HistoryHistory Extension

Ravkaran Grewal97.85

Subjects Studied

English AdvancedMathematics Extension 1Mathematics Extension 2

Economics Physics

Liam Wright96.65

High Achievers (95+)

Subjects Studied

English AdvancedMathematics

Mathematics Extension 1Business Studies

EconomicsLegal Studies

Jasmine Barrie95.60

Subjects Studied

English AdvancedMathematics Agriculture

BiologyGeography

Esther Alexander96.55

Subjects Studied

English AdvancedEnglish Extension 1English Extension 2

MathematicsBiology

Business StudiesLegal Studies

Laura Chillmaid95.05

Subjects Studied

English AdvancedEnglish Extension 1

MathematicsBiology

EconomicsMusic 2

Bethany Noakes96.20

Subjects Studied

English AdvancedMathematics Standard 2

DramaVisual Arts

Indonesian Continuers

Lara Lindsay96.15

Student Voice“I think for studying it is so much more important to understand what you are actually learning rather than just memorising it because you can be thrown some really weird questions in exams. If you have just memorised dot points and syllabus headings you may not be able to answer it but if you actually understand what you have been taught you can mould an answer to any question and that can really help especially with unexpected questions in the HSC.” Shivani Mistry

“Don’t get too hung up on your mistakes. Definitely learn from your mistakes, but mistakes do not define your HSC. Have that winning attitude to keep on pushing until the end.” Charles Ingram

“Maths was one of the subjects I needed to work on the most as I felt the least confident with it. The best advice is to just seek help and ask as many people as you can (teachers, students in older year groups, siblings, a tutor etc) as everyone teaches and explains in a different way, learning various ways to do things can be very helpful.” Lara Lindsay

“Shoot emails to your teachers. Especially in your smaller classes, I got so much teacher attention and feedback going back and forth until I felt comfortable. The teachers are fantastic and so happy to help, you can keep going back and forth until you are comfortable.” Isaiah Kezelos

“I found working to a timetable helped me. I would work on my more difficult subjects and finish by rewarding myself with time to work on my favourite subjects. I kept focusing on my goals and had my dream ATAR on my wall. I just kept pushing and pushing and kept an open growth mindset. I needed to endure the hard times to get through to the good times.” Isabelle Borg

“There are going to be things that you will struggle with. If you want to get through that, you need to focus on those areas more. Even though this will feel hard as you always feel better doing things you are good at, going back to the difficult areas will always pay off in the end.” Shivani Mistry

“It’s ok to have areas you are weak in and strong in - everyone will have them. Having knowledge of your weaknesses gives you room to grow.” Thomas Brien

“Putting things into perspective really helps if you don’t do well in a task, because it is one assessment task and there are so many that you will do. You need to bring it back to the fact that it does not define you and you have the whole entire year to improve it so you might as well just work on that and focus on that.” Elodie Creber

“If you have any questions, even simple questions or questions you might think are dumb, ask them anyway. Submit all past papers (even individual questions from past papers) and essays for feedback. If you are feeling stressed about the HSC you can even talk to your teachers for motivation, encouragement and support.” Jeremy Chau

“I emailed my teachers a lot. That really helped, especially getting feedback for past papers and identifying my strengths so I did not waste time working on them. Always ask questions. I always struggled with the courage to ask teachers questions but I think I got better at that this year and it helped me so much.” Isabella Tyson

“Get your study notes done with time left to learn them. Summarising is not learning your work. Leave time to learn the summary.” Harrison Barrett

“Every time I got feedback from a teacher or from a test I would underline areas and keep a list of areas which I didn’t do well in or they said I needed to improve. Having that visual list of everything they’ve said really helped me to go back and reflect on what I’d done and then next time ask them how I can do better in this? Go in prepared for your teachers rather than just saying help me. Have a list of questions you need help with and they will be able to help you if they know what you need.” Jasmine Barrie

“Feedback, advice and support. Honestly I do not

know any other school like this. Our teachers were AMAZING. The feedback and support was always there. So many teachers emailed and supported me and gave advice.” Laura Chillmaid

“Even though it may feel like it at times, no-one expects you to be perfect - so you can make mistakes - just roll with it. Sleep and eat well.” Brendan Garner

Ensure you are doing the subjects YOU enjoy and will get the most out of. I truly enjoyed all my subjects this year, which really helped me become motivated to study.

Maintaining a balanced life is also very important in Year 12! Having an outlet such as an extra-curricular activity you can do a few times a week not only gives you a break from your studies, but also helps you stay focused when it’s time to study.

Really use your teachers because they are there to help and want to see you succeed. Sending drafts to your teachers, organising to spend extra time at lunch or after school to practice or go over work with you is all so helpful and will really help you improve.

Know your syllabus back to front, it is vital, particularly for Social Sciences.

Identify your week areas and areas for improvement and write them down. Once you feel more confident cross them off the list.

Try your best and just see what happens.

Don’t stress about a bad result because stressing doesn’t change anything. All you can do is use it to improve your result for the next task.

Use your teachers, get help from your friends and have some fun along the way. Make good memories of your last year together at school.

Sleep well and eat well.

Do not spend too much time on one subject. Only doing well in all subjects will give you a good ATAR.

Be up-to-date with study notes and summaries before trials so that you can do as many practice questions as possible.

General Tips for Success

Macarthur Anglican SchoolCobbitty RoadCobbitty NSW 2570Australia

T: +61 (0)2 4647 5333E: administration@macarthur.nsw.edu.au

W: macarthur.nsw.edu.au